How good is Darren Aronofsky? He’s damn good. How good is Mickey Rourke? He’s damn good. How good is seeing Marisa Tomei’s over 40 breast? It’s damn good as well.
Before the whole Oscar fiasco blew over and had us seeing Slumdog Millionaire make an undeserving sweep (I insist it’s a very good movie, just not phantasmagoric as I was sold and as it was made to be, but more on that later), The Wrestler showed me just why I love Darren Aronofsky so damn much. So let’s analyze each of the three questions on top and see if we can’t elaborate enough to communicate why I’m going to buy this movie once it comes out.
1. Darren Aronofsky is one hell of a director. Some people had a problem with The Fountain, but I found that movie so beautifully depressing that I can’t help but hold it close to my heart. Just in case you need some clarification, once an Aronofsky feature ends, you’re not supposed to feel good. Let me explain. Pi, his first film, is a weird tale of a young genius mathematician that couldn’t get laid if you put the tip of his penis in the opening. I’m talking sociopath with an obsession with the mathematical equation to understand pi. What ensues is a twisted tale where good acting, interesting camera angles and a modern day black and white flick threatens to bust into anyone’s top 100 movies simply because it’s so engaging. It’s creepy, compelling, offbeat and quite a lot weird, so naturally I’m loving it. The next movie in his repertoire is the Masterfully depressing Requiem for a Dream. Just in case, I think all teens should be showed three films so they desist from drug usage, shitty habits and bigotry. The movies are American History X, Kids, and Requiem. Acting is top notch, stories are gut wrenching and there is no Hollywood ending here. I think the sheer plausibility of the movie is unnerving to a very real point. Again, great soundtrack, kick ass editing, style bleeding from every pore and a movie that just demands to be seen since it’s also on my top 100 all time movies. Third on the list, The Fountain. Depressing, beautiful, complicated, confusing and beautifully sad. This is a hit or miss with people and for me it was a great hit. I bought it without thinking about it and recommend the movie if only for the sets, the visuals and the music. I just happen to really like the entire movie though. So how does the Wrestler compare with the rest of his collection… I think the thing I like of some of Aronofsky’s work is just how real it feels. If you’ve ever been a fan of wrestling, you have to see this movie and by the end you should be choking up and to sum it all up, I almost started watching wrestling again, that’s how good this movie is and as with all other of Aronofsky’s films, it’s a story that sticks with you and there are characters you see in your dreams, talk to and feel genuine compassion for. That’s as much a work of the director, as the screen writer as the actor; which brings me to Mickey Rourke.
2. This movie is pretty much heralded as the return of Mickey Rourke, as a stroke of masterful acting, and you know what? I agree. Rarely do you feel characters feel this real and relevant. Ram is a screw up, he’s always been a screw up, and he’ll always be a screw up… but you can’t help but love the character. You just can’t. He’s so real and broken and beat, yet he still puts pain and ego aside and does what he has to so he can get by. I didn’t see Milk with Sean Penn, but trust me, just seeing Penn win it after seeing the Wrestler has convinced me I have to see Milk, because if Sean was better than Mickey, it has to be something to behold. So am I part of the crowd that is suddenly in love with Mickey Rourke? Not really, I even liked him in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, I was just wondering where the hell he was… until we got reunited in Sin City with his delicious rendition of Marv… another master stroke downplayed if you ask me. Plus, the fact that Mickey has never given too much of a damn is charming, case in point, wearing a picture of his fallen Chihuahua. I’m a dog lover so I can relate, but wow, seeing where Mickey has gone to and where he’s gotten thanks to this, well I can’t help but be thankful for seeing this movie and want to see the next Rourke installment.
And finally… Marisa Tomei
3. Strip dancing and bearing it all in a movie shouldn’t be easy for anyone to do, especially for Tomei who has been holding out on giving guys a reason to adjust their trousers. True I could focus on her topless scenes and how this fulfills a decade’s worth of prayers from many people I know, me not necessarily included, but not necessarily complaining either. Ms. Tomei for her part held her own solidly in the movie, though to be honest, I’m not sure she deserved the Oscar’s nod, but maybe that’s just because Mickey was so damn good. I’m not for the life of me taking ANYTHING away from Marisa. I think the Oscar nod in My Cousin Vinny is very well deserved and by the way, I love that friggin movie. I just wasn’t blown away as much by her performance this time around, then I think of it… she was nominated as best supporting actress… and a big part of the Wrestler’s niceties come from Ram’s relations with all people around him, especially his stripper love. So retracting, she deserved the Oscar nod, just not the win, though I’m still curious to see if Penelope Cruz was really THAT good. Regardless, Marisa was a key part in keeping this movie real, so many props to her.
On a final note though, or semi final as it may be, I honestly think Springsteen not winning or even getting an Oscar nomination for The Wrestler original song is about as lame as the Oscars can get… but hey… thank the stars for the Golden Globes eh?
All in all, I honestly can’t recommend this movie enough. It’s well shot, well acted, well written and just well made from every conceivable angle. So here’s to Marisa’s topless acting, Mickey’s return to form and Darren producing yet another movie that demands to be filed under Kubrick good.
Cheers
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